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OUR FUTURE IN THE BALANCE CAMPAIGN

APPEAL FOR DONATIONS FOR LEGAL COSTS

The recent Gatvol Petition was signed by over 4000 Far South residents. We are all totally frustrated by the traffic congestion within, and in and out of our area, as it negatively impacts our daily lives. The City has acknowledged that utilisation of Ou Kaapse Weg has exceeded capacity. Yet the authorities continue to approve ever more development in the area targeting upper and middle income buyers.

Quoting the City’s own District Plan: “major new developments in the far south sub-district must be dependent on the availability of sufficient and adequate service infrastructure for the sub-district as a whole and to this extent Traffic Impact Assessments (TIAs) on major new developments should take into consideration traffic impacts …on key access routes out of the valley, and particularly Ou Kaapse Weg”.

Riverside Glen Extension (the first 107 of 400 houses) in Kommetjie has recently been approved based on a Regional Traffic Impact Assessment which does not meet the requirements of our District Plan. Right of appeal was denied. The Kommetjie Residents and Ratepayers Association (KRRA) have recognised that, if this development is allowed to go ahead, it will set a precedent that will open the flood gates for further development. There are already more than 4000 new dwelling units approved in the Far South, over 3200 of which are developer-driven new upper and middle class homes; and there are several thousand more in the pipeline.

Previous objections to irresponsible development have been ignored by the City. There has been no response from the Mayor as yet to the Gatvol Petition. It is now clear that the only way to get the City to follow its own plans and protect its own interests is to take legal action. The KRRA have obtained legal advice which indicates that there are reasonable prospects of a legal challenge succeeding.

As this issue affects us all, the Far South Peninsula Community Forum has undertaken to support the KRRA and assist in bringing this to the attention of all Far South residents. Legal costs are estimated at R350,000. Taking the crowd-sourcing model, we appeal to all to make a contribution, with a deadline of end July 2016.

Think of the future. Think of it with another 4000 ++ homes in our area – another 8000 cars on the roads. And the schools? The clinics? The social services? Law enforcement? This is our only chance to stop irresponsible development which benefits developers, and costs the rest of us time, money and health. How much are you prepared to invest to protect our area from the irrevocable chaos that results from over development? We owe it to ourselves and our children.